"Mother, you know Lady Lyana and this is Lady Wyn from Aupana, whom I've told you about, Caelur said easily, ushering the two women into the study that was assigned to the Queen-mother. 

Wyn had thought Caelur had only been polite when he offered to introduce her to the Queen, but after allowing her a couple days of rest, he had already proven that he kept his word in not allowing her to avoid him. He was busy but there was a boyish sweetness to the fact that he seemed to find the time to escort her to his mother's private offices.

The woman was older but still looking in the prime of her life, standing easily and accepting both women's bows as they came into the room. "Enchanted as always Lady Lyana. Welcome home and Lady Wyn, I have heard much about you. Welcome to Sellexu. I am sorry you had to wait so long to see me. I was indisposed for several days since you arrived."

"Thank you M'lady and it was no issue, to wait. I know you are a busy woman and am only happy that you did find time." Lady Wyn said respectfully, offering the woman an earnest smile. "Thank you so much for your hospitality and for agreeing to see us. I've heard so much about your own projects and your son speaks very highly of you."

"I must be going but if any of you need anything, please let me know." Caelur inclined his head, smiling and leaving the room as he was shooed off by his mother.

"Now, ladies, let us get to business, shall we?" The older woman smiled easily, showing them to the table. "I've read about what you've done in Aupana and the reports of your progress here in Sellexu. I'm very impressed by it all, but I am confused, what do you need from me?"

"I'd like to partner with your own initiatives and help set up a system that works for Sellexu, with your blessings and guidance." Wyn said easily, offering her more papers with the new proposals and plans. "Lady Lyana has been a great help, drafting up an idea of how we think it could work, but we would love your input."

***

The first morning they were in the Sellexu capital, she had been part way through her warmup when she saw Shiar walking across the practice yard. Nerini had turned towards him, her expression opening in relief of having some form of familiarity in this strange place, until she saw that he was already in full armour, with his weapons on. He was  clearly heading towards the stables as opposed to looking ready to spar as had become their routine. Still, she took the chance to stop him with an easy call. "No practice today?"

He paused, looking  confused in a distant sort of way, as if he was having trouble figuring out where he was. Slowly, he climbed out of a fog, his expression cleared for a brief moment, he looked conflicted before he slowly shook his head. "No, no I promised to go for a ride this morning with Lady Emeltra and her ladies. I've got to go, or I'll be late."

And with that he walked on, with not even another backward glance for the person he had called his partner for the past couple months. So quickly she had been forgotten, when surrounded by his life, the familiar court that he had pretended not to care a whit about while they were travelling. She quelled the jealousy and hurt that threatened to rear its head at the realization that even their friendship meant nothing. Instead of ruminating, she turned to occupy herself with her own tasks.

After a week, she had stopped expecting him out to spar or even acknowledge her in passing. Shiar was forgotten and she returned to her own training, content to finding new paths around the palace, across the ramparts and through the city streets on her own. Everywhere she ran, she found herself followed by a couple of the guard, though for her protection or someone else's, she wasn't sure and she didn't ask about it.

She made sure to push herself past her normal warm up, sprinting and leaving the two armoured men behind after a few moments, out of frustration and spite more than anything else. If they were going to try and stay with her, they were going to have to work for it, though after a while, the Guards seemed to enjoy the challenge, grinning to her, knowing her weighted equipment was at least as heavy as their armour, that she was pushing herself as much as she was torturing them.

Two weeks in to her visit to the capital  and there were even  a couple other ladies who had begun showing up, who were slightly more open minded about this strange idea of women fighting. Nerini had been waiting for more derision and snide comments but as she began teaching, the groups had grown around her. Women learning how to fight back, laughing and joking with one another, wearing outfits that seemed strange to them.

The training began to take a more serious meaning to the growing crowd and what had started as an odd past time had evolved into something else. It was as if learning to fight was something meaningful that wasn't as odd or impossible as they had first believed. The men who had begun to gather  around the outside continued watching and grumbling amongst themselves, growing more and more upset with every passing day of training. 

It took three weeks for one of the Lords to become brave enough, clearly deciding that it was time to broach his disapproval.  Nerini was surprised it had taken them that long and she had been itching for a fight since  they had begun showing up.

"So, do you actually fight? Or do you merely dance around with tiny knives?" The man who had deemed himself the spokesman for the group of offended lordlings drawled to her as her lesson ended and she walked off the practice yard. 

When she ignored him, he stepped in front of her with his chest puffed out, demanding her attention. He was a tall, fit young man who clearly thought a great deal about his own fighting abilities and even more about a woman's place in life. Nerini broke into a wide grin as she glanced him up and down.

"Rini..." Wyn whispered a word of warning, glancing at the group of men who had shifted their attention to watch the exchange. 

Wyn had already started strapping on her actual swords, watching the group of men warily. She kept her hands resting on her hilts in a warning for them to stay back and for all their tough talk, they seemed dissuaded by Wyn's aggressive stance.

Nerini just shrugged and watched the man who had challenged her, that grin of hers not fading. "You saying you've finally worked up the courage to find out?"

"We fight till the person is incapacitated here. That means blood, sometimes broken bones, wounds." He sneered, smirking back to his friends, then looking her up and down. "I won't hold back for you. You want to act like a man, I'll teach you your place."

"Of course, you will." She grinned wider, nodding and turning her back to him, walking back out into the practice yard while still holding her weighted weapons and appearing not to notice or care.

*** 

Lyana frowned, having stepped up beside Wyn, tugging the woman's arm and whispering to her as the Lordling advanced after Nerini. "Her blades are dull and heavier than they should be. His aren't. Those aren't his practice blades. She could get hurt and he's not a nice man, he's going to try and hurt her."

Wyn paused, watching Nerini friend for a moment, before shaking her head and patting Lyana on the shoulder. "I don't think she cares. What about these other men, will they intervene?"

Lyana shook her head without hesitation. "No, in Sellexu a spar is a spar, it's completely against protocol to jump in."

Anything more was cut off by what was happening within the sparring space between the two fighters, both of whom looked ready to murder one another, though Wyn's money was always on her friend.

Nerini smiled and spun her blades, watching the tall, well-muscled lordling advance on her, his broad sword and short sword drawn. "C'mon, show me how a man really fights..."

He yelled and charged her, slashing hard with the broad sword followed by the short sword and she turned the attack aside then the following thrust without batting an eye. She shifted around his charges and heavy slashes while lightly using her swords to deflect the motions and attacks. Nerini looked almost bored as she pulled him to follow her, sending him stumbling to the side as she redirected his force over and over again.

He got angrier and rougher, slashing and thrusting and crossing in attacks meant to hurt if they could only land where he intended them to land. His movements were skilled and smooth, an average fighter compared to Nerini on a bad day. His expression was dark and there was nothing casual about his intention, nothing that indicated this was anything but a fight to the death.

And Nerini continued to defend without a care in the world, staying on the defensive and moving to respond only to his swords. She smiled thoughtfully as the man's friends cheered him on, clearly thinking she was back on her heels and doomed to be beaten. 

Wyn watched the fight curiously, smirking as she recognized this as Nerini playing with the man, amping up his anger and tiring him out, her expression passionless and almost bored. Wyn recognized that expression for the anger hidden beneath it, though she couldn't make herself feel bad for her opponent.

Finally, Nerini parried a downward slash, tossing his sword wide, her other blade catching his short sword and locking it down to the other side. There was a moment's pause as they faced each other then she grinned wider and blew him a kiss. He blinked for a moment before she kicked him hard in the chest, sending him tumbling backwards. "Remember your rules, about incapacitation? Blood? Injury? Everyone here heard that, everyone heard you state them."

"Oh no," Wyn said softly. "Here we go."

And as if on cue, as the lordling angrily got to his feet and started towards her once more, mouth opening with another assuredly stupid comment, Nerini attacked before it could completely form on his lips. Her blades cutting quickly and sharply, bruising and breaking skin as she moved around and through his defences several times. Though her blades were not sharp enough to cut badly, she bruised mercilessly and opened skin, smashing his nose with a hilt and his jaw with her elbow as she continued attacking him relentlessly.  Again she threw his arms wide and before she head butted him, then spun her blades to throw him over her shoulder.

He landed awkwardly with a resounding crack, letting out a scream before going unconscious even as Nerini sprinted after him. Nerini's anger was out in full force with no indication that she would give him any quarter.

"Nerini! Stop!" Wyn jumped up, wincing as her friend stopped a fair distance from her even as the group of Lords ran towards Nerini, their weapons half drawn. Wyn was drawing her own as Nerini turned and glared at the group of them.

"All of you?" Nerini snarled, holding her arms wide, taking a step forward that stopped them in their tracks. It was almost funny, all the formerly haughty men suddenly looking very unsure of themselves. "Come on! Show me again how much better at this you are!"

All five of them shook their heads and paced backwards from her advance, sheathing their weapons and holding up their hands in surrender. She had won, if only from the fury of her reaction, if only from the passion that was coursing through her.

Wyn jogged over, putting herself between Nerini and the group of men. "Rini, stop. I think they just want to help their friend."

***

Nerini paused, looking at Wyn, then behind her, to where the man lay, his arm and collarbone looking out of place. The idiot was bleeding in several places, including his nose and mouth. "Fine."

She spun her blades back into their sheaths and strode off the practice field, glowering as she grabbed her weighted vest and started back towards the palace. Her movements were a violent prowl, barely noticing Lyana and Wyn on either side of her for the first several hundred steps. 

She was fuming, muttering quietly to herself until she looked up to both of them, pulling herself out of a daze, realizing that they seemed more concerned with her than anything else.

"You're not going to help him?" She finally asked Lyana, side glancing to the healer, who gave her a smart smile, eyes sparkling.

"Wouldn't dream of helping a waste of space like him, Rini" Lyana smirked at that

Wyn chuckled and shook her head. "That man was a fool."

Nerini let out a slow breath. "I think this place is wearing on me. Someone is going to be upset I hurt that boy."

Lyana shook her head. "There were several witnesses to his challenge and setting out of the rules. There is no contest to anything that happened and he will probably have some explaining to do, about violently challenging a welcomed visitor of the Regent."

Nerini shrugged and frowned at something in the distance. "Still, people don't like being beaten."

However, they didn't hear a word of it throughout the day and the next morning, she had several more ladies in the group asking to be taught how to sword fight along with a couple lords, asking for instruction in her style to compliment what they had learned. And still more every day after, along with decidedly more friendly challenges of sparring.

 Nerini thought briefly of turning the men down but realized that she would be doing her argument no good, by excluding men while trying to prove that women were their equals. Some of the challenges were friendly and done with the utmost respect to her as a warrior. 

And others were just more diplomatic ways to try and humiliate her. Slowly, those stopped, as each and every challenger was defeated handily.  Within no time, there was no more serious contest, as the only fighter who had ever given her challenge didn't seem inclined to pick up his swords to fight.